The invention relates to a method and apparatus for preventing termites and other crawling insects from entering, for example, houses or other structures inhabited or occupied by people and/or animals, and more particularly, relates to a method and apparatus for preventing termites, crawling insects or other crawling pests, from entering residential structures, commercial structures and industrial structures which structures are mounted on support and associated structures connected to ground.
Support and associated structures include, for example, foundation walls surrounding either a crawl space or a basement, external veneer or facia, perimeter pier construction with or without an exterior veneer, interior piers supporting the weight of the specific structure, concrete slabs with wood frame construction, and concrete slabs on either grade masonry construction or pilings.
At the present time, most residential structures, commercial structures, and industrial structures, which are mounted on support and associated structures, utilize highly toxic poisons and other devices placed across the insect pathway to prevent termites and other crawling insects and pests from reaching the residential, commercial, and industrial structures. This is particularly the case where termite or insect intrusion could cause structural damage and/or physical or emotional problems to people and/or animals inhabiting or working in the structure. With most of the current methods, the user or a contracted service must periodically replace the toxic substances in order to preclude termites and/or other crawling insects. The most effective toxic substance, chlordane, has recently been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mechanical assembly mounted above ground on support and/or associated structures. This assembly has physical and other barriers arranged in a particular manner for preventing termites and other crawling insects from reaching critical areas of residential structures, commercial structures, and industrial structures.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide unobtrusive devices that are relatively inexpensive, easy to install, quick to maintain, and environmentally safe, while having physical and other barriers for preventing termites and other crawling insects from reaching critical areas of residential structures, commercial structures, and industrial structures.
It is a further object of the invention to utilize a bonding agent to provide an impervious bond between the assembly and the support and associated structures. The purpose of the bonding agent is to seal off any spaces, between the assembly and the support and associated structures, which would have permitted the termites and crawling insects to bypass the invention and thereby gain access to the residential structures, commercial structures, and industrial structures.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an assembly which may be utilized on new construction, as a retrofit on existing structures, or as an integral portion of manufactured or modular structures at the time the structures are originally manufactured.